Cliché
by IsabelleWoodsRP
Summary: I met Dan in a coffee shop, a total cliché, I know. But once I met this man, my world was turned upside down. A/N: This is going to be a Psycho Dan fanfic, so if you don't like the psycho Dan aesthetic, don't read it lol. You can also read this story on my tumblr: fandom-snippets
1. I Don't Even Know Your Name

We met in a coffee shop. Cliché, I know, but that's how it happened. He sat down in the chair across from me, not saying a word as he stared down at his phone and casually drank his coffee.

"Can I help you?" I had asked. He looked up at me, his deep amber eyes piercing into me. I held my gaze, and his faltered.

"Nope." He responded, looking back to his phone. No other words were spoken that day. This repeated every day, with him coming over to my table and sitting with me, no words passing between us. Some days he had a laptop, some days he had nothing at all as he just watched me. Whether I was reading, writing, drawing, or just staring out the window lost in my thoughts, he was always watching me. It bothered me at first but now it was part of my routine, a normal thing in my day of normal things.

There were a few time when he wasn't there, throwing me off balance for a bit, but he was always back the next day. His eyes tired and his jaw tense, but he was back. One day, he finally spoke to me.

"What are you reading?" His voice startled me as he had only spoken one word to me over the past month or so since he started watching me. I looked up at him over my book, lifting it up so he could see the cover while continuing to read. His hand reached over the edge of my book as he lowered it. "No," he started. "I want you to tell me what's it's about." His words were soft but I felt compelled to do what he said.

"Well," I started, he leant back in his chair, clasping his hands behind his head as he watched me. His eyes were filled with curiosity and something else that I couldn't put my finger on. "It's about a girl who's a descendent of Alice Liddell and her mother has gone mad because of the heritage. She finds out that her mother isn't actually crazy though, and goes on an adventure through wonderland to save her mother." I looked him in the eyes the entire time I spoke, neither of our eyes faltering from each other.

He suddenly leaned forward, picking up his coffee from the table and standing up. He looked down at me, and for the first time I saw his smile. And I smiled back. His face twisted again into that emotion that I couldn't decipher after I smiled, and he leaned down. He lifted my book up again so he could see the cover of the book. "I'll have to pick that up, sounds like a good read." He mumbled before standing up. "I'll see you tomorrow." He finished, turning around and walking out of the coffee shop.

I did see him the next day, this time with the same book I was reading. He sat across from me as usual. This time I was the one watching him. After about an hour of watching him he closed the book and looked up at me. We spent another hour just watching each other. I didn't even know this man, but I couldn't look away from him. I think I had the same effect on him, he looked intrigued.

"I don't even know your name." He finally said, breaking the silence. I glanced down at my pocket watch necklace before looking back to him. I picked up my book and bag and stood up before looking at him. "No, you don't." I smiled at home before walking out. He watched me through the window until I was out of his view.


	2. What Am I Going To Do With You Now?

I closed up the gallery, pulling my sweater tight around me against the cold air. I thankfully didn't work too far from the coffee shop so I'm never late as long as I leave five minutes before I start. Working in a small, privately owned art gallery was like working in a dream. I rarely had clients to deal with and I was surrounded by beautiful art. Someday I was hoping to be able to sell my own art from there, but that dream was still just out of my reach.

The man wasn't at the coffee shop today, so I felt like I was forgetting something all through the day. Until I ran into him. It was strange to see him outside of the coffee shop. It was even stranger to see him covered in blood, clearly in a hurry. We both froze as we made eye contact, morbid curiosity rooting me in place. It's not like I could go anywhere anyways, there was a dead end behind me.

His eyes darted around the alley frantically before landing back on me. "Fuck." He muttered before grabbing my arm and pulling me to the fire escape on the building adjacent to the gallery and up to the top of the building. "Ok, listen to me. I need you to stay very, very quiet right now, ok? No noise or I swear I'll push you off this fire escape." His words were more pleading than threatening, and I didn't find any truth in his threat. I still nodded, leaning back against the wall casually, watching him as he watched the street.

We sat there for about half an hour, until a car pulled up. He turned to look at me finally, his eyes boring into mine. "Stay right here." He ordered, and I did. Another man stepped out of the car as the man from the coffee shop made an appearance at the bottom of the fire escape. The new man handed him a duffel bag before getting in his car and driving up. The man from the coffee shop made his way back up to where I was sitting and did a double take. Probably surprised to see I stayed put. He didn't say anything as he changed out of the bloody clothes and into some clean ones. "Ok," he mumbled, stuffing the other clothes in the bag. "You probably should've run when you had the chance, I can't exactly let you go now that you've seen that."

"What's your name?" I finally spoke and his head shot up to look me in the eyes again. There was a debate in his eyes while he tried to decide if he should tell me his name. "My name is Autumn." I offered, hoping that would help him trust me.

"Dan." He finally answered, offering a hand to help me stand up. Once I was standing he rubbed his hands over his face and let out a groan. "What am I going to do with you now, Autumn?" He asked himself, clearly not expecting an answer. It seemed he finally made up his mind as he took my arm again, his grip a bit too tight for my liking. I tapped his hand a couple times.

"Your grip's a little bit too rough, Dan." I told him, not expecting him to actually care. But apparently he did, because he loosened his grip so his hand was just resting on my arm.

"Sorry," he mumbled before finally making up his mind. "Ok, you're coming with me. I really don't feel like having to chase you down later."

"Ok." I shrugged, grabbing his hand off my arm and holding it. He looked quite startled, which made me laugh. "I figure this would look a bit less suspicious than you leading me by my arm. And then this way you have security in knowing I probably won't take off." His head tilted with curiosity, the same curiosity that was making me go along with this, before he laughed. Actually laughed, like if I just told him some hilarious joke.

"You are a strange one, you know that?" He led me down the fire escape, his grip on my hand tight to make sure I wouldn't run off.

"I try." I replied.


End file.
